A friend recently suggested I thought left-wing politics had diminished in popular culture, and my response was disbelief. *The Housemaid* exemplifies why that’s simply not true. Paul Feig and Rebecca Sonnenshine have created another offering for those who believe *The Handmaid's Tale* is a sensible comparison to contemporary America. Comically evil straight white males populate the main storyline, along with flashbacks concerning the first female protagonist, a sequel setup that promises even more absurdity (*Housemaid 2: This Time It’s Even More Ridiculous*). The central male character lives behind a gated property bearing his initial. Enough said. He inherited all of his money. Enough said. And he works in tech! But what exactly *is* a Data Processing company? Does Chandler work there? I hadn't read Freida McFadden’s novel, my introduction to *The Housemaid* being the trailer I saw weeks ago. Watching images of an attractive house and even more attractive women unfold, I immediately thought, "So, the husband is a monster. Got it.” Perhaps storytelling, subtlety, character development, suspense, and satisfying plot twists are outdated now. The priority seems to be consistently delivering a message: wealthy individuals are inherently bad, especially if they're straight, white men. Feig appears deeply committed to this concept, seemingly desperate to regain favor with the studios. A dispute arose in an online comments section when someone pointed out that no woman would invite a housemaid resembling Sydney Sweeney into her home. The predictable response was “That’s sexist!” When lacking a solid argument, resort to labels like sexist, racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, transphobic, or xenophobic—one is bound to stick. It's disregarded that most domestic workers don’t look anything like Sydney Sweeney; if they did, many wives would likely object. A genuine discussion about serious issues such as domestic abuse becomes impossible when viewers refuse to acknowledge the ridiculous premise of *The Housemaid*. Instead, Feig serves up a steady stream of HGTV-style visuals with attractive men and nonsense. Speaking of Sydney Sweeney, she clearly needed a success. Thanks to her character Millie, Sweeney won’t have to dwell on the jeans controversy that has followed her for much of the year. Millie is the type of person who buys their clothes off the rack but still knows how to make a good melon salad or serve juice. Amanda Seyfried takes a break from criticizing deceased men to play the glamorous, talkative and eccentric wife. Sadly, these two actresses don't share any romantic scenes; it feels like a real missed opportunity. Brandon Sklenar appears as Andrew, an expert gaslighter. Between *The Housemaid* and *Drop*, Sklenar is Hollywood’s latest heartthrob. He's so attractive I'd be concerned if he were my masseuse. It’s easy to see how he could essentially reverse *Pretty Woman* with numerous women at such a young age. Two major problems with modern movies are the reliance on left-wing tropes and their excessive length. It takes an unreasonable 75 minutes before Feig reveals something anyone with common sense already knew. A film echoing so many other narratives didn't need to take so long to unfold. *The Housemaid* isn’t meant to be taken seriously; it’s outlandish, over-the-top nonsense. It is also visually appealing gibberish with several humorous moments. I remain puzzled as to why I was the only one laughing in the theater. The ending requires no intellectual effort; a *Gone Girl*-style conclusion was readily available. However, nuance seems largely lost in what has been a disappointing year for movies. *The Housemaid* is correct about one thing: *Barry Lyndon* is a masterpiece. Greta understands the irony.

Source on TMDB